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Sitting behind the wheel of his vehicle Friday afternoon, Joe Nieuwendyk admits the boys’ weekend he is in the midst of has plenty to do with why he’s coming back to Calgary next month as an honouree and not Calgary Flames GM.

In the middle of a four-hour road trip from Dallas to Houston with 11-year-old son Jackson, Nieuwendyk says weekend jaunts to minor hockey tournaments hold far more appeal to him right now than the NHL’s charter flights and daily grind that comes along with being a GM in the league.

“I’m enjoying the family and spending lots of time with my son and his hockey,” said the 47-year-old, making his very first public comments on the vacant Flames gig.

“I’ve had conversations with (Flames president of hockey operations) Brian (Burke), and I just don’t feel at this particular time it’s something I want to give 110% to, which is what that job requires.”

As GM of the Dallas Stars from 2009-13 and in various management roles since his retirement in ’06, the husband and father of three simply wants to focus on the finer things in life no matter how attractive the Flames job may be.

“Possibly one day,” Nieuwendyk said of a front-office return.

“I really enjoyed that (Stars GM) job, and down the road perhaps … but I’m really enjoying the time with my family. It’s important to me.

“I know first-hand from being in that chair you miss out on a lot of things — not just when you are travelling but even when you are there, your mind is somewhere else.”

Having priorities like that are yet another reason for Flames fans to admire and applaud the Olympic gold-medal winner and Hockey Hall of Famer, who will become the third inductee to the Forever A Flame club March 7.

“I spent half my career in that Saddledome, so it’s a nice honour to be joining my buddies, Al MacInnis and Mike Vernon, there,” said Nieuwendyk, who retired at age 40 with more than 1,200 NHL games under his belt.

“You think about all the good times. Even when I was a player on another team, coming back was special — you have that bond with the city and the old teammates.”

Amongst those he felt privileged to play alongside in Calgary were childhood buddy Gary Roberts and, of course, father-figure Lanny McDonald, with whom he raised the Stanley Cup here in '89.

“He was more like a big brother than a father figure,” said Nieuwendyk, who learned enough from McDonald to eventually take over as Flames captain.

“He was terrific for all of us. He really captured the hearts of all of Calgary, because he fought so hard and never had a sniff at the Cup.

“You kind of go through your career and kind of appreciate it and don’t look back until the end and realize how lucky you were.”

Nieuwendyk’s family and several former teammates will join him for a pre-game ceremony March 7 at which a banner with his name will be hoisted permanently to the rafters.

The Flames abandoned the age-old practice of retiring numbers several years ago, insisting the Forever a Flame recognition is the highest honour that can be bestowed on a past Flames player.

“Here’s a guy that kind of exemplified how the game should be played,” said McDonald, who strongly believes Nieuwendyk’s No. 25 and MacInnis’ No. 2 should be retired alongside his No. 9 — the only digit immortalized by the club.

“He skated like the wind, had unbelievable hands and loved the game.

“To win three Stanley Cups with three different teams tells you how good a player he was.”

An NCAA Cornell University product, who became the NHL’s top rookie in 1987-88 when the second-round pick burst onto the scene with a 51-goal, 92-point season, Nieuwendyk won the Cup here in Year 2, when a second-consecutive 51-goal campaign finished with him raising the Stanley Cup at the Forum in Montreal.

He later won Cups with the Stars and with the New Jersey Devils.

And while his nine-year stay here ended with an unfortunate holdout in ’95, his Christmas trade to the Stars landed the budget-conscious Flames future star Jarome Iginla, who became another tremendous legacy as an eight-time 30-goal scorer.

As decorated and prolific a player as Nieuwendyk was over the course of his remarkable 21-year career, the 6-foot-2, 205-lb. sniper is remembered by most for his class and poise — characteristics that put him on Burke’s GM wish-list.

Alas, Gentleman Joe’s wish-list revolves around Jackson, Tyra, Kaycee and wife Tina at the moment, reminding us why one of the game’s great ambassadors won the King Clancy Trophy in ’95 for the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.

“This weekend, it’s just him and I,” said Niewendyk of his coveted father/son roadie.

“I’ve had a lot of fun with him, and he and I are really tight. I’m an assistant coach, and he loves having me on the ice.”

Nieuwendyk to be Forever A Flame but chooses parenthood over GM duties

Sitting behind the wheel of his vehicle Friday afternoon, Joe Nieuwendyk admits the boys’ weekend he is in the midst of has plenty to do with why he’s coming back to Calgary next month as an honouree and not Calgary Flames GM.

In the middle of a four-hour road trip from Dallas to Houston with 11-year-old son Jackson, Nieuwendyk says weekend jaunts to minor hockey tournaments hold far more appeal to him right now than the NHL’s charter flights and daily grind that comes along with being a GM in the league.

“I’m enjoying the family and spending lots of time with my son and his hockey,” said the 47-year-old, making his very first public comments on the vacant Flames gig.

“I’ve had conversations with (Flames president of hockey operations) Brian (Burke), and I just don’t feel at this particular time it’s something I want to give 110% to, which is what that job requires.”